Meat treating machine



Oct. 17;1944; J, RSPANG 5 '2,360,729

MEAT TREATING MACHINE ori g inal Fi led Jan. 5, 1943 Patented Oct- 11, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE? MEAT TREATING MACHINE Joseph P. Spang, Quincy, Mass, assilnor to Cube Steak Machin e 60., Bolto tion of Massachusetts Continuation tr application Serial No. 471,349,

January 5, Serial No. 487,552

g I 4 Claims. This application is acontinuation of my application SerialNo. 471,849 filed January 5, 19,43. The invention relates to meat treating machines and more particularly to a machine for simultaneously slitting and tenderlzing meat and knitting it info unit pieces. Twotypes of meat treat ing and tenderizing machines heretofore employed are adapted respectively (1) to slit an individual steak continuously along a plurality of parallel lines, and (2) to slit discontinuously along parallel lines and unite small pieces of meat together into a single piece having the appearance of an individual steak, the discontinuous slitting action of the latter serving to in, Mass., a corpora- 1943. This application May 19, 1943,

machine that will perform these operations fully as effectively as they have heretofore been performed by both said machines. I

In my copending application, Serial No. 413,944 filed October-l, 1941, I have disclosed a meat treating machine having two seats of meat treating rolls. One set is provided with knifing disks adapted to discontinuously slit and knit the meat and the other set is provided with annular cutting disks adapted to continuously slit the meat. It the meat is to be thus fully slitted, tenderized and knitted it isnecessary to put it through both sets of treating rolls. invention herein is to produce a machine which will perform both slitting operations simultaneously with one passage of the meat through the machine.

- The-invention particularly concerns the novel combining of full slitting disks together with intermittent slitting disks or knives into a single pair of meat treating rolls, the rolls embodying two adjacent and parallel shafts supportin the disks thereon in such relation that a piece of meat passed therebetween is simultaneously treated by both types of disks thereby simulta- Another object of theneously, continuously and discontinuously slitting the meat. The discontinuous slitting disks are furthermore adapted to tuck the cut fibres into the meat upon repeated passage of the meat through the rolls thereby knitting and compressing the meat into the most compact and desirable form. The production of such an improved machine comprises a primary object of the invention.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof selected for purposes'of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing in which,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary cross sectional view through a meat treating machine embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is a' fragmentary view taken on line '2-2 of Fig. 1,. and showing the meat treating rolls in plan,

Fig. 3 is a face view of one of the continuous slitting disks, Fig. 4 is a face view slitting and knitting disks,

Fig. 5 is a view like Fig. 2, but showing a modifled arrangement of disks, and Fig. 6 illustrates a slightly modified continuous slitting disk.

A preferred form of-the invention is illustrated in Figs. 1-4 of the drawing wherein ll indicates a housing withinwhich is mounted a pair of relatively adjacent and parallel shafts i2 supported at their ends on bearings in end plates 14. Non-rotatably mounted on the shafts are continuous slitting disks l6 and kniilng-knitting disks It, washers 2 0 or the like being employed to hold the disks in spaced relation. The slit-' ting disks I! have continuous annular cutting edges 22 on and along their peripheries and the knifing disks it have interrupted peripheries providing fiat knife-like blades 24 disposed outwardlytherearound, the knifing disks being located between the slitting disks in such arrangement thatthe two disks on opposite sides of each slitting disk are 'kniflng disks and are mounted on the shaft opposite to that carrying the slitting disk. The disks on each shaft are disposed alternately with the disks on the other shaft and extend inwardly of the peripheral outline of the disks on the other shaft. The disks are of thin knife-thickness steel of sufiicient strength to be self-supporting on their shafts and the blades 24 provide cutting knives sharpened at their rounded outer ends.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, both types of disks It and It are mounted on both shafts and the slitting disks IS on each shaft are arranged alternately with the slitting disks on the other shaft.

Each shaft has two kniilng disks ll disposed between each two adjacent slitting disks ii thereon, and the disks It and it are so arranged on the two shafts that two kniflng disks II are disposed between each two adjacent slitting disks It. The disks are furthermore so arranged that the two kniiing disks It on opposite. sides of each ofone of thediscontinuous v v form of carrying the slitting disk. It will be apparent that this arrangement provides twice as many knifing disks II as slitting disks l8 and serves to slit the meat continuously and intermittently on both sides, and the two knifing disks serve to hold the meat impaled thereon independently slitting disk It are on the shaft opposite to that formed into unit masses and passed a plurality of I times through the machine. At each passage the knives. serve the additional function of tucking previously severed fibres and loose ends into the meat which has been tenderized by previous passages through the machi e,- the opposing disks also serving to compress the mass units of meat more compactly at each passage through the ma-' chine. It i also frequently desired'to form composite meat units embodying more than one kind of meat as, for example, a beef and'pork combinaengage the meat and form intermittent, tenderthus continuously slit and intermittently knifed on both faces.

The invention illustrated in Fig. 5 is the same as that above described except that the slitting disks 38 are mounted on one shaft 31 and the knifing disks 38 are mounted on the other shaft 39, the shafts being rotatably connected by gearing 40. The disks on the two shafts are arranged alternately and overlap at their adjacent peripheries. It will be apparent that this'arrangemerit provides equal numbers of knifing disks 36 and slitting disks 38 and the meat is continuously slitte'd on one side and discontinuously knifed on the other side.

It may be explained that the slitting of the meat. by both continuous and discontinuous cuts, not only tenderizes the meat by the severance of fibres therein but furthermore-substantially aids the cooking process by permitting the passage of hot cooking juices into the cuts. The continuous cuts serve substantially to sever the long fibres which extend through the meat and the discontinuous cuts serve in like manner to sever the shorter fibres but without permitting the meat to open up to the extent it would if all cuts were continuous, thereby conserving the juices which remain within the discontinuous and closed =cuts. It is further explained that the tenderizing of the meat by closely disposed knife cuts therethrough and not by any mangling, tearing or crushing of tion, and my improved machine is particularly adapted to serve this function. In-such case the meat units are formed of the desired meat, in both kind and proportion, and repeated passage of the units through the machine both tenderizes and molds them into unit steaks or like servings.

It will be understood that the primary object of the invention is to provide a machine of this nature which will simultaneously serve theseveral functions above described and it will be apparent that modifications other than those specifically ,4

illustrated herein are contemplated and are within the scope of the invention. While the slitting disks preferably have substantially continuous annular cutting edges,-it will be appa ent that the invention does not'require that such edges shall be wholly continuous and annular to the extent illustrated in Fig. 3 and they may advantageously be somewhat modified therefrom. For example, in Fig. 6 I have illustrated a slitting disk 46 having a substantially continuous circumferential cutting edge in the form of segments 48 so disposed that the arcuate edge of each segment cuts progressively deeper into the product as the disks are rotated in the direction of the arrow. It will furthermore be understood that the slitting and knifing disks can be given suitable arrangements,

other than those herein specifically illustrated,

for effecting the objects of the invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

the meat has "very definite and valuable adthe meat juices enclosed within tiny cells. Crushing or mangling of the meat destroys thesecells and permits the juices to escape, and in the cooking process the 'heatabsorbs these juices so that their value is largely lost and the meat becomes "dry and unpalatable. Tenderizing the meat by knife cuts leaves most of the cells intact and when heat is applied the cells are seared over with the juices retained therein. The difference is well illustrated by a cooked steak and cooked hamburger, the former being juicy and flavorful and the latter being dry and lacking in flavor.

It is also well known that whole pieces of steak and like meats are more desirable and of greater commercial value than is meat which is broken up into small and stringy pieces, and the knifing like unita' When such meat is to be treated it is 1. A meat treating machine, comprising a pair of relatively adjacent and parallel shafts mounted for rotation, relatively thin and fiat meat slitting disks and meat knifing disks in spaced relation on and along each of said shafts with the disks on each shaft disposed alternately with the disks on the'other shaft and extending inwardly of the peripheral outline of the disks on the other shaft, means holding the disks in said spaced relation on the shafts whereby all adjacent disks are separated by an open gap therebetween, the slitting disks oneach shaft being arranged alternately with the slitting disks on the other shaft and having substantially continuous circumferential cutting edges on and along their peripheries adapted to make continuous cuts, each knifing disk having an interrupted periphery providing fiat knife-like blades extending outwardly therearound in the plane of the disk and of a thickness substantially commensurate with'the body portion of the disk, the blades being in relatively spaced relation and sharpened at their outer ends to make discontinuous knife cuts and the kniflng disks being located between th slitting disks in such arrangement that the two disks on opposite sides of each slitting disk are knifing disks and are mounted on the shaft opposite to that carrying the slitting disk, and means connecting the shafts for rotating in opposite directions.

2. The machine defined in claim 1 in which two knifing disks are disposed on one shaft be- 2,860,729 tween each two relatively adjacent slitting disks on the same shaft.

3. A meat treating machine, comprising a pair of relatively adjacent and parallel shafts mounted for rotation, relatively thin and flat meat slitting disks in spaced relation on and along one of said shafts and meat knifing disks on and along the other shaft, the slitting and knifing disks being disposed alternately and each extending inwardly of the peripheral outline of the other, the slitting disks having substantially continuous circumferential cutting edges on and along their peripheries adapted to make continuous cuts and each knifing disk having an inter-' rupted periphery providing flat knife-like blades extending outwardly therearound in the plane of the disk and of a thickness substantially commensurate with the body portion of the disk, the blades having relatively broad and sharpened outer ends and spaced a substantial distance apart with their relatively adjacent edges diverging outwardly, and means connecting the shafts for rotation in opposite directions and the disks at substantially equal peripheral speeds.

4. A meat treating machine, comprising a pair of relatively adjacent and parallel shafts mount,

ed for rotation, relatively thin and fiat meat slitspaced a substantial distance apart with their relatively adjacent edges diverging outwardly and their outer ends relatively broad and sharpened to make relatively broad and discontinuous knife cuts, and means connecting the shafts for rotation in opposite directions and the disks at substantially equal peripheral speeds, said knifing disks being located between the slitting disks in such arrangement that the two disks on opposite sides of each slitting disk are knifing disks and are mounted on the shaft opposite to that carrying the slitting disk.

' JOSEPH P. SPANG. 

